Never The Fall
by SpecialHell
Summary: Danny/Don slash - epilogue added.
1. Chapter 1

Danny sighed heavily and closed his locker. Another day. Another case. Something felt inherently wrong today, but Danny knew he had to keep going. He couldn't afford another screw up and, if something did happen to him tonight, well maybe the lab would be better off without him.

~*~*~*~*~

"What've we got?" Danny asked emotionlessly as he walked into a particularly bloody crime scene. Don walked over to him and looked down at his notebook.

"Three dead. Two here and one in the bathroom. All of them were shot and it looks like the same weapon."

"Apartment clear?"

"Uniform did a sweep through, everything looks fine."

"Alright," Danny sighed. "I guess I'd better get to work."

"Which means I get the riveting job of talking to the neighbours," Don replied sarcastically. Danny smiled weakly as Flack walked out of the apartment and left him alone.

~*~*~*~*~

Danny looked up quickly when he heard a sound behind him. Don hadn't come back yet, and the room was supposed to be clear. Abandoning the fingerprints he was about to lift, Danny stood up slowly and drew his gun.

"Flack?" He called out cautiously as he walked towards the bedroom door. There was another muffled sound and Danny raised his gun slightly.

"Hey. If there's anyone in there you'd better be a cop. This is a crime scene." Danny was about to reach out to push the door when it was opened from the other side and he was staring down the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun.

"Don't move! I swear to god I'll blow your head off! Drop the gun. Drop it!"

"Whoa! Slow down buddy. You need to make a decision here. Do you want me to freeze or do you want me to drop the gun. I can't do both."

"Save the sarcasm."

"That wasn't sarcasm, man. It's physically impossible for me to do both. I should know; I'm a scientist."

"You're not a cop?"

"Crime Scene Investigator." The assailant sighed lightly, seeming to relax.

"Drop the gun."

"Alright," Danny said quietly before crouching to place his gun on the floor. He stood back up slowly, raising his hands to head level.

"Now you got a choice here. You can either leave now, no harm done, or you can do something stupid."

"Are you calling me stupid?"

"Not unless you're planning on killing me. The cop in charge of this scene is just down the hall and there are plenty of other CSIs that can prove you did this. To be honest, another body is just gonna make their job easier."

"How do you know I won't get rid of the evidence?"

"How do you know you'll get everything," Danny replied seriously. "The biggest mistake people make is thinking they're in the clear." The assailant seemed to think about this for a moment before getting a dangerous look on his face.

"Then maybe you should do it for me."

~*~*~*~*~

"Are you sure you got everything?" The assailant demanded, pressing the shotgun to Danny's back.

"Yeah," Danny replied immediately. "Yeah, I got everything. There's nothing left here that ties you to the crime scene."

"Nothing besides you." Danny sighed.

"You're right. I'm all that's left." Danny felt the gun barrel press harder against his back.

"Into the bedroom," the assailant ordered, turning with Danny as he complied. Danny remained silent as they came to a stop. He closed his eyes slowly; there was nothing he could think of that would get him out of this one. A quiet calm overtook Danny's body and a moment later a shot rang out through the apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Danny opened his eyes, feeling the shotgun fall away from his body. He turned around, confused, to see Don standing in front of him, gun raised. The man who had held Danny captive less than a minute ago was now lying lifeless on the bedroom floor. Flack re-holstered his gun and strode quickly over to Danny.

"You ok?" He asked, putting a hand on Danny's shoulder. Danny looked blankly up at him and nodded.

"Yeah," He managed to croak out. "I'm fine. You'd better call this in." Don nodded, still looking worriedly at his friend.

~*~*~*~*~

"Danny." Stella rushed towards her co-worker. "Are you ok? Is everything alright?" Danny nodded, smiling at Stella.

"Yeah, Stel. Everything's fine. Bad guy's dead. Case closed." Stella nodded, sighing in relief and rubbed Danny's arm absently.

"Alright," She almost whispered. "Well, you get yourself home, ok?" Danny immediately shook his head.

"No, Stella, I'm…"

"You need to go home, Danny." Danny and Stella looked up to see Mac standing in the doorway.

"Just for today. Get some rest and come back tomorrow."

"Mac, I…"

"That wasn't a request, Danny," Mac replied; his stern features betrayed by the worry in his eyes. Mac turned to Flack as he approached the group.

"Don, take Danny home." Don nodded, a simple hand on Danny's shoulder silencing any protests from the shorter man.

~*~*~*~*~

"Flack, you don't need to come in with me," Danny protested. "I'm fine, really."

"Yeah, well, I'm not," Don replied, shutting the door behind him. "You almost got killed this morning and I don't know about you, but I need a drink." Danny couldn't help but smile softly as he led Flack to the kitchen.

"Whiskey?" Don nodded. Danny turned towards his cupboards and pulled out a bottle and two glasses. Flack looked down at Danny's hands worriedly.

"Let me do that."

"Flack, I don't need you babying me."

"Danny, you're hands are shaking. Just let me pour or you'll get it everywhere." Danny sighed heavily before relinquishing the bottle. Don poured them both a drink and handed one to Danny, who quickly drank it. He stared at the glass for a moment while Flack finished his drink. When Danny spoke, it was so quiet Don almost missed it.

"I didn't hear you come in," He whispered. Don sighed.

"Luckily for us, neither did the perp."

"You didn't announce yourself."

"There was no time."

"He could've hurt you too."

"Well, luckily he didn't. Besides, I'd rather us both hurt than one of us dead."

"You don't deserve to get hurt." Don sighed; he could almost hear the underlying 'because of me' Danny was thinking.

"I can see where this is going, and you'd better stop it before you even start." Danny looked up cautiously to see Flack looking decidedly pissed off.

"Flack, I…"

"No, Danny. I don't wanna hear anything you're about to say. You've gotta stop doing this."

"Doing what?"

"Talking like you'd be no big loss to this world. I've seen the way you've been acting lately, and it's gonna stop now," Don poured them another drink as he continued his rant. "You know, you're not as worthless as you seem to think. You're a good CSI and a good person and, yeah you've been dealt some bad hands, but that's no reason to stop living. You can't spend the rest of your life proving all the people who said you'd amount to nothing right." Danny looked up, seemingly about to say something, but Don raised his hand; silencing Danny before he started.

"You spend all your time trying to prove to people that you're not as bad as they've heard, but for them to believe it you've gotta start believing it yourself. You're not a screw-up Danny, and I'm sick of just standing by and watching you sabotage your own life."

"I haven't…"

"You're just as bad with your love life, y'know. I've seen you. When a girl's treating you like dirt; making you wait or screwing around on you, you'll follow her around like a puppy, but the second a woman shows you affection; when they're hanging off you and actually look like they care, you do something to push them away. You deserve to be happy, Danny. And I swear if you pull this unworthy crap again, I'll…"

"What?" Danny retorted, walking around the counter to approach Don. "You'll do what?" Flack looked down at Danny, seeing the defiance flashing in his eyes. Before he'd really thought about what he was doing, he was pulling Danny in and pressing their lips roughly together.


	3. Chapter 3

Danny pressed himself into Don, his hands bunching in the detective's shirt. Don responded by pulling Danny closer, moving to nip lightly at the skin below his ear. The sudden burst of passion was cut short by the sound of Flack's pager going off. Sighing through his heavy breathing, Don looked down at his pager.

"It's Mac," He said quietly. "It's probably about the shoot this morning. I'd better go." Danny nodded, stepping away from Don, who was still looking at him apologetically.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Flack promised; his annoyance at Danny's behaviour still evident in his voice. "This isn't over." Danny nodded, unable to form an argument against Don at that moment, and watched as the detective left his apartment.

~*~*~*~*~

Danny paced the room nervously. He'd been doing little else since Flack had left a few hours earlier. His mind was racing from the things Don had said, as well as done, to him. Did the detective really believe what he'd accused Danny of? More importantly, was it true? His thoughts were cut short by the sound of the door opening and shutting. A few seconds later, Don appeared in front of Danny, whose heart immediately began to race with a mixture of lust and apprehension. They stood for the longest moment before Flack finally spoke.

"Have you eaten yet today?" Danny was about to answer, but words seemed to fail him and he simply shook his head. Don nodded before reaching his hand out to Danny.

"C'mon," He said softly. Danny hesitated for a moment before taking the hand offered and letting himself be led through to the kitchen.

"Just sit there," Don told Danny when they got to the kitchen. "I'll fix us something." Again, Danny just nodded and did as he was told as Don wandered around his kitchen and prepared them a simple meal.

Once he was done, he set a plate in front of Danny and sat across from him. Danny looked down at the food and he couldn't help but smile. He looked up at Flack for a moment before silently eating what Don had prepared.

~*~*~*~*~

Danny closed his eyes, trying to get his thoughts in order. It was late, and Flack was still there. Danny was standing in front of the sink under the pretence of washing the dishes, but his mind was too scattered to concentrate. He was jolted from his thoughts be a pair of strong arms around his waist.

"They won't get clean if you just look at 'em," Don said softly. Danny felt an overwhelming temptation to lean back into Flack's warm body, but somehow he managed to pull himself away. Slowly, he looked up at Don, afraid of what he'd see there. To Danny's surprise, Flack was smiling patiently at him.

"Why are you still here?" Danny asked quietly. "Mac only told you to bring me home. There's no reason for you to stay, it's not your job to take care of me."

"No," Don conceded. "My job is something I get paid for. Taking care of you, I do for free, sometimes without you even realising it."

"Well, maybe it's time you stopped." Again, Don simply smiled before taking a step towards Danny.

"I'm not giving up on you, Danny. You can try to push me away all you like, but I'm not that easy to shake." Danny sighed and closed his eyes, a sudden insecurity taking him over.

"Am I really that bad?" He whispered, his eyes filling with tears. "Do I screw things up on purpose?" Don sighed and covered the ground between them, pulling Danny into a hug.

"You don't mean to," Flack replied softly. "It's just a defence mechanism. I can't blame you, after all you've been through, but it's gotta stop. You deserve to be happy." Flack pulled back to look into Danny's eyes. "You just have to let yourself." Danny nodded slowly, finally seeing the truth in Don's words. Keeping his eyes locked with Flack's, Danny leaned up to kiss him. To his surprise and confusion, Don sighed and pulled away.

"It's late," Flack whispered. "You should get some sleep." Danny nodded, grabbing Don's arm as the detective turned to leave.

"Stay?" The request was barely a whisper, but Don heard it. Smiling softly, he took Danny's hand and led him out of the kitchen.

~*~*~*~*~

They looked at each other from opposite ends of the room. Danny was looking nervous, almost fearful and Don was watching him as he had been all night – calm and patient. Flack guessed it had been a long while since someone who wasn't a drunken one night stand had shared his bed. Slowly, Don stepped towards Danny.

"I can take the couch," He said softly. "If it's easier." Danny shook his head, his eyes not leaving Don's.

"Well, we can't stand here all night. We've both got work tomorrow." Danny nodded, reaching his hand out to Don, who took it in his own. As quickly as he dared, Flack pulled his arm back, bringing Danny with him. The shorter man gave up no resistance as Don set to work removing his shirt. There was nothing rushed about it and Danny got the feeling nothing was going to happen between them tonight. He wasn't sure how he felt about that, but decided to push that thought aside in favour of removing Don's shirt.

~*~*~*~*~

Danny opened his eyes with a groan, smiling when he felt Don's arms tight around his middle. It took him a second to realise the source of his premature awakening – his phone was ringing incessantly on the bedside table. Sighing heavily, he reached out and answered it.

"Messer."

"_Hey, Danny, it's Mac."_

"Mac. What's up?"

"_Just calling to check if you're feeling better."_

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"_You think you'll be up to coming into work today?"_

"Definitely. I'll see you in…" Danny looked over to the clock. "Four hours."

"_Ok. Try and get some more sleep, could be a busy night." _

"Alright Mac. Bye."

"_Bye Danny."_ Danny hung up his phone and turned to see Don looking at him with a soft smile.

"Mornin'" Don smiled. "You ok?"

"I'm great," Danny smiled, leaning down to kiss Don lightly, much to the detective's surprise. "That's the best night's sleep I've had in a long time." Don smiled back up at Danny.

"Glad I could help. Speaking of sleep, I believe I heard you say we've got 4 hours before we need to be in work." Danny nodded and was immediately pulled back down into the comfort of Don's strong embrace.


	4. Chapter 4

Danny looked down at the woman sitting in the interrogation room with him. She looked shocked.

"_If you really loved me, you'd do the world a favour and jump off the nearest skyscraper."_

"I… I didn't think he'd really do it. I didn't mean for him to… I was just mad."

"You knew about your boyfriend's problems, Ms Jenkins. You knew he'd do anything to prove how much he loved you, and stop you being mad at him."

"After what happened, I… I didn't think I could believe him, I… I thought he didn't love me."

"Love shouldn't have to be proved," Danny replied. "It's not something you should need evidence for. You either believe it's there or you don't, and no amount of stupid stunts should be able to replace that kinda faith." These words seemed to hit the woman hard and she began to cry. Danny sighed lightly and turned to leave the room.

Mac watched Danny from behind the two-way. He could feel the truth in Danny's words that only came with experience. Danny didn't talk much about his past, but something told Mac that the younger man had learned this sentiment the hard way.

~*~*~*~*~

Danny took in a heavy breath as he looked down at his hands. Long buried memories were fighting their way to the surface; memories Danny would much rather forget.

"_I love you." His admission was met only with a sly smirk._

"_Prove it." Danny looked disbelieving for a moment before nodding._

"_Alright. What do you want me to do?"_

He should never have asked. The second he got a reply that wasn't 'I love you too,' he should've walked. Danny laughed bitterly to himself. Too late now. He'd screwed up his life to prove his love to some chick, and now… Danny stopped. And now, he was a CSI. Now, he was surrounded by people who cared about him and who he could trust. He didn't need to tell them how much they meant, because they already knew, and if he did think to say it, his motives would never be questioned. Now, he had a real family that he could depend on, and to add to it all, now he had Don as more than just a friend.

~*~*~*~*~

Danny opened the door to Flack's precinct, immediately stopping in his tracks when he heard Don's voice, raised in clear anger.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You were told to clear the scene. Someone almost died because of you, do you understand that?"

"Listen, Flack, I…"

"I don't wanna hear it! I couldn't care less what kind of excuse you've got ready. When you clear a scene you look everywhere. Got it?"

"I… yeah."

"Good. Now get the hell outta here." The officer Don had been telling off quickly brushed past Danny, which alerted Flack to his presence. Immediately the darkness in Don's eyes faded and a soft smile took over his expression. He strode over to Danny, his long legs making short work of the precinct floor.

"Danny," Flack's smile had spread to a grin by this point. "I wasn't expecting to see you today."

"Yeah, well, I had a break and I… I wanted to see you." Don nodded.

"Ok, well I'm due a break. You wanna grab some coffee?" Danny nodded in response and followed Don out of the precinct.

~*~*~*~*~

Don looked worriedly at Danny. The shorter man had barely spoken since they left the precinct, and he had a brooding look that set off alarm bells for Flack.

"Is everything ok?" He asked carefully. Danny looked up at Flack and smiled.

"Yeah. I'm… I'm fine." Don nodded, but Danny could tell he didn't believe him. Danny sighed. "It's just… been a long shift."

"Tough case?" Danny nodded slowly.

"I just… I don't get it. How someone can just throw everything away with one word from someone else."

"I get it." Danny stopped and looked up at Don as he continued. "I mean, maybe not to the point of getting yourself killed, but loving someone so much that you'd do anything they ask? I can understand that." Danny nodded slowly as they began to walk again, smiling softly at Don. The rest of the walk back to the crimelab was comfortably silent. Both men stopped at the main entrance, where a young girl was standing.

"Do you need help?" Danny asked as the girl approached them. Danny guessed she was about 12 years old, and it looked as if she'd been crying.

"Do you know a Detective Messer?" She asked quietly. Danny looked to Don warily for a second.

"I'm Danny Messer," Danny answered. "What can I do for you?" Danny's question was answered by the girl wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. Don couldn't help but smile as he watched Danny place a hand awkwardly on the girl's shoulder. Slowly, she pulled away and looked up at Danny.

"Thank you," She whispered. "If it wasn't for you, I'd never have known why my father… why he left me… why he did what he did." Danny seemed to realise who the girl was and nodded.

"You're David Nichols' daughter." The girl nodded. "Y'know we've been looking for you all day."

"I know," She whispered. "But I was scared that you'd make me stay with… that woman." The distain was evident in the girl's voice and Danny knew she was referring to the woman responsible for her father's death.

"Do you have anyone you can stay with now?" Don asked. The girl nodded.

"I've got an uncle across town."

"You gonna be alright getting there?" Danny asked; concern in his eyes. The girl nodded again.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you Detective, for everything."

"Hey, I was just doing my job," Danny replied humbly.

"That doesn't make what you did for my father any less meaningful. You're the only person to care about our family without asking for anything in return." Danny tried to think of something to say, but failed and settled for smiling at the girl as she turned and walked away. Flack turned to Danny, smiling kindly. Danny looked away self-consciously.

"What?" He asked quietly. Don shook his head lightly and put a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"C'mon," Don said softly. "Let's get back to work."


	5. Chapter 5

Flack left work that night to see Danny leaning against his car. He smiled brightly as Danny turned to look at him.

"I want you to come home with me," Danny said before Don had a chance to speak.

"Well I guess you'd better get in then," Don replied, walking around to the driver's side, still smiling at Danny.

~*~*~*~*~

Danny was kissing Don as soon as the door to his apartment closed. Don kissed back with equal heat but stopped when Danny's hands went to his belt.

"Hey, Dan, any chance I could use your shower?" Don's question was rewarded with a smirk.

"That sounds like an idea…" Flack sighed at the tone in the shorter man's voice.

"Danny…"

"Yeah, I know," Danny smiled softly, stepping away a little. "Slow. I got it." Flack sighed, pulling Danny back in to kiss him lightly.

"I won't be long, ok?" Danny sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, alright. I'll cook us something." Don nodded and smiled.

"Thanks." Flack was about to leave the room when a loud knocking sounded at the door. Danny and Don both turned to look and Danny approached the door warily.

"Danny! You'd better open this door and talk to me!" Flack looked at Danny, who took a deep breath and opened the door a little.

"Melinda," Danny sighed. "What are you doing here?"

"It seems like the only way I can make sure you'll talk to me. I've been calling you for two days."

"It's been a crazy week, ok? A lot of stuff's happened and I haven't had time to check my messages."

"That's a convenient excuse."

"Don't even try to start that, Mel," Danny snapped. "You dumped me, remember?"

"I didn't…"

"You left a note on my table telling me we made a huge mistake and it'd be best if we just forget it. You can't take that back just because… y'know what, I don't even know why you want to." Melinda sighed.

"Can I come in?"

"No."

"Please." Danny sighed and looked over to Flack behind the door. He nodded slowly and moved towards the bedroom.

"Alright," Danny sighed, looking back at Melinda. "You got five minutes."

~*~*~*~*~

"I never should've rejected you like that."

"Then why did you?" Danny had his arms folded defensively as he asked this. Melinda sighed.

"I just… you have a reputation, Danny. Everyone knows it. I was afraid what I was getting into was just… too complicated."

"And what makes you think I'm any simpler now?" Flack suppressed a sigh. He knew he shouldn't be listening in, but he was concerned about Danny as well as his possible future with the detective.

"I decided I shouldn't let that bother me."

"It's a little late for that." Melinda sighed.

"It doesn't have to be," She said softly. "I'm right here, Danny. Do you really wanna throw this chance away?"

"Yes." Flack couldn't help but smile at this.

"Fine. I guess I'll just leave."

"Goodbye, Melinda." Don heard the door open and shut and a second later, Danny's voice was calling out.

"I know you were listening." Flack could hear the soft amusement in Danny's voice. "You can come out now." Don opened the door and walked back into the living room. Danny approached him, wrapping his arms lazily around Flack's waist.

"So, who was she?" Don asked carefully.

"Melinda Chase," Danny sighed. "She's a legal secretary so obviously she knew who I was when she met me." Don nodded, refraining from commenting. Danny smiled up at Flack before pulling the taller man down into a kiss. When they parted, Don was wearing Danny's smile.

"Didn't you say something about a shower?" Danny asked. Don nodded, smirking, and took Danny's hand. Danny looked confused as Flack led him towards the bedroom.

"What happened to slow?"

"I decided to skip it," Don smiled. "And besides, I think a shower could do you good."

THE END


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N. By request of criminalmindsfreak03 – a fluffy little addition._

* * *

Epilogue – 6 months later

Danny looked down at Don with a soft smile on his face. He couldn't believe the detective was still here with him after all this time. Don made a point of telling, as well as showing, Danny everyday how much he meant, but still the shorter man found it hard to accept. He counted himself lucky that Flack cared about him, and he silently thanked whoever was listening every time the taller man turned up on his doorstep after work. Telling the team had been easier than he would have thought. Stella was ecstatic, Hawkes and Adam were both supportive, and Mac had stayed worryingly quiet before giving them both a soft smile of approval. Danny had every reason in the world to be happy, but still he worried. In his opinion Don was way too good for him, and it was just a matter of time before the detective figured that out too.

"Stop thinking so loud." A soft voice jolted Danny from his thoughts, and he looked down to see Don's blue eyes wide open and looking at him.

"Hey."

"Hey," Danny smiled. "Did I wake you?" Don shook his head before pulling Danny down into a deep, loving kiss.

"C'mon," He whispered. "We gotta be up for work soon. Get some sleep." Danny nodded, lying down next to Don, who immediately pulled the younger man into his arms. Don placed a gently kiss to Danny's forehead as his lover closed his eyes.

"I love you," Don said quietly when he was sure Danny was asleep.

"Love you too," came the hushed reply before Danny's breath evened out. Don smiled, tightening his grip around Danny before following the CSI into sleep.

The End (really this time)


End file.
